Northwest Inland

Sheltered terrain not only offers the best riding right now, but also keeps you away from lingering wind slabs.

High - The weather pattern is stable

MONDAY: Sunny, moderate northwest winds, treeline temperatures around -12 C.TUESDAY: Sunny, moderate northwest winds, treeline temperatures around -14 C.WEDNESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, moderate southwest winds, treeline temperatures around -18 C.

A few small wind slabs in steep south facing terrain were reported west of Smithers in a Mountain Information Network report (see here). Wind slabs have shown some reactivity to human triggers over the past week, but cold temperatures have generally made them difficult to trigger.

Surface snow has been affected by winds from a variety of directions. The degree of wind effect varies throughout the region, with the most dramatic winds associated with outflow conditions in the western parts of the region near coastal inlets. Sheltered areas may still have 10-30 cm of powder from previous storms. Roughly 20 cm below the surface, a variable weak layer exists comprising of facets, crusts on solar aspects, and in protected areas below 1500 m, feathery surface hoar. In most places, insufficient snow has fallen above this layer for it to be reactive, but it should be considered in deep snow areas or where the wind has blown additional snow over the top of it. The lower snowpack is generally well settled with two prominent crusts. The late November crust can be found 30-50 cm below the surface and the October crust is near the base of the snowpack.